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 The last boss isn't "Dark Link" okay? It's Link's shadow. This is an important distinction! You're not fighting some evil clone doppelganger, you're fighting yourself. It's the last courageous act you must undertake to become an adult: defeating your own childish self-centeredness. That same selfishness that lead to your every defeat  And was there during every proud victory  Because there's no Ganon to fight this time. You're here to awaken a woman in a coma, save a kidnapped child, retrieve a town's trophy, fetch a thirsty woman a glass of water, and a dozen other selfless deeds across the kingdom of Hyrule, and the only enemy (besides the remnants of Ganon's monsters who all want to kill your rear end and use your blood to resurrect their evil master but whatever) is that childish cowardly part of you that wants to give up and go home and play something else because this is all way too hard and tedious and besides it's not like any of this is even your problem, right? gently caress that! You're a grown-rear end adult!  Anyways don't call the last boss Dark Link, it's always been Link's shadow.
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Jul 21, 2022 19:20
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 12:57 |
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 But yeah let this be the catch-all thread for the most unique Zelda game ever. Where it's 1988 and Link is a 16-year old brunette traversing a vaguely Catholic and Mediterranean Hyrule overworld.     Where you didn't win by upgrading your items but by gaining EXPERIENCE  When cartridges were gold and no one could figure out what the hell to do without Nintendo Power.   And perhaps most importantly, where you can revitalize yourself by coming inside the houses of remarkably helpful young women waiting outside their front doors clad in red dresses with one hand perpetually placed on their hips!  It's Link's most adventure some quest yet!TM 
SidneyIsTheKiller fucked around with this message at 00:00 on Jul 22, 2022 |
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Jul 21, 2022 19:36
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Also this is just my experience but the whole "Zelda II is the black sheep of the series" bit is something that people tend to presume is the case more than it ever actually was true, especially at the time of its release. It was extremely well-received and highly acclaimed.
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Jul 21, 2022 20:18
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I think what I was trying to get at is I think Zelda II has an underappreciated sophistication in story and presentation for such an early console release. It was the first game I can recall being able to sense that it was "about something." You can argue that Zelda II being a metaphor for maturation and becoming an adult is SO obvious it doesn't even count as subtext, but the game never does say anything as on-the-nose as "it's time to grow up now, Link," and even then its obviousness only suggests they intentionally gave the story a level beyond the "wake the princess and save Hyrule" surface plot. Whether intended or simply a result of the limited tech, Zelda II presents its theme with a remarkable amount of showing rather than telling, from your upgrades being experience and learned skill (rather than strictly items) and how the Game Over screen reminds you of your personal responsibility this time around: there is no giving up or letting someone else handle it, it is on you specifically to prevail or else the world is hosed! 
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Jul 28, 2022 20:27
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MadDogMike posted:I don't care what you call that last boss, I never beat that rear end in a top hat back in the day so I mostly called him a bunch of words I wasn't supposed to say when I was that young. Fun fact: the notorious birdmen enemies introduced in the final palace are named "fokka" and "fokkeru." 
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Jul 28, 2022 20:33
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It should be noted that this game is available on the Switch online service, which has an on-the-fly rewind feature. Also, Rewind might be the single greatest development in all videogame history.
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Jul 28, 2022 23:22
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 12:57 |
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^ Those sure are some impressive achievements in my eyes.  Congrats!
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Jun 5, 2023 19:56
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